"Thank you all for my new life"-Kundan Bhattarai

By Rajan Koirala/06-09-2010 for hamroaawaz.com

“When I opened my eyes, I didn’t know where and why I was there,” Kundan Bhattarai said.

Bhattarai is a North Lake College student who suffered from cardiac arrest on March 18 at his work in a convenient store in South Dallas. An international Nepali student, who dreams of being a successful civil engineer after his graduation, is forced to rest for months. Besides cardiac arrest, he suffered from multiple organ failures and some neurological damages including the blockage of oxygen supply to his brain.

He had to stop going to college after the doctors warned that re-occurrence of cardiac arrest is possible if he has mental and physical stresses. He will probably complete the courses he registered for spring 2010 by summer if his health goes back to normal, which will be determined after a couple of check-ups in May.

Born in Kavre district of Nepal in 1989, Bhattarai came to Cameron University in Oklahoma for undergraduate studies in engineering in January 2009. He is planning to transfer to University of Texas at Arlington after the completion of associate’s degree in North Lake.

A quiet and soft-spoken Bhattarai loves hanging out with friends. He likes to watch movies, listen to music and travel to different places. Even though he likes to have fun with friends, he doesn’t smoke or drink.

“I heard some people said I had this heart failure because of my drinking habit,” said Bhattarai in a whispering sound. “My friends know me well and I am pretty sure somebody outside my circle said that.”

The youngest son of Keshav Pd. Bhattarai and Sita Bhattarai, he is well disciplined since his childhood. He has one elder brother in Nepal. His father is an employee in a private organization and his mother is a housewife.

Because Bhattarai did not have health insurance, the hospital bills were too high for him to pay. His father’s salary is barely enough for the household expenses in Nepal.

“Dad! How come you are here?” said Bhattarai surprisingly, when he came out of coma after 12 days. “I don’t know where am I and why am I here.”

The story is short. He didn’t remember what had happened to him before a week and half.

Bharat Mani Bhattarai, cousin of Kundan, was surprised to see the police officers at his door at the day he had the cardiac arrest.

“Does this guy stay here with you?” asked one of the officers showing a picture.

“Yes, he is my brother. What happened sir?” Bharat asked in a worried way.

It was in the dusk; Bharat was so worried because he talked to Kundan on the phone a while before the officers showed up.

“He is in the Baylor University Medical Hospital and they want his guardian to be there soon.” The officers left.

Bharat was speechless. He could neither ask why Kundan was in hospital nor think what might have happened to him to get admitted there.

He called one of his friends since they both were off from work that day and headed to the hospital following the direction he got from the police officers.

Even though Bharat’s hands were in the steering wheel and foot was on the accelerator of his car, his mind was too far away from his physical body at the moment.

“I know it is a bad neighborhood where Kundan works,” he speaks to himself. “What if something unexpected happened? How do I deliver that news to uncle and aunt?”

Driving few miles to the hospital turned to be the longest drive for Bharat and his friend. Sometimes they talked to each other and sometimes they stayed quiet.

When they reached the hospital, they could see Kundan was lying on a bed comatose.

“What happened to him doctor?” Bharat asked a physician.

“He had a cardiac attack.” Doctor replied. “Seems like it was because of some stress he had.”

Bharat took a long breath and thanked God because he didn’t have to face the consequence that he had been thinking for about an hour. He thought Kundan might have been robbed with a weapon and had suffered fatal injuries.

It was not the end of the story. Bharat no longer could breathe the air of relief after a physician said Kundan has very low chance of getting his life back. Bharat was told to call his parents to see him if possible.

Bharat called Kundan dad’s cell phone but because he was at work, he couldn’t understand Bharat’s voice in the field. He called him back in few minutes.

“Bharat, did you call me on my cell phone?” Uncle asked.

“Yeah, Kundan is in hospital,” Bharat replied. “Doctors want to know the family history about heart problems. So, they want his parents to be here as soon as possible.”

“Is it a car accident?” Uncle asked again.

Bharat was speechless. He could neither explain what had happened nor could talk properly.

Kundan’s mother went unconscious for hours when she heard the news. She cried for several days. Because of her condition and because the flight to the U.S. is over 20 hours, her husband didn’t want to bring her. She calls her son everyday to know his health.

On the other hand, U.S. embassy rejected his dad’s visa because they did not trust a handwritten doctor’s recommendation letter and believed that he might want to come to the States to work . He was granted visa in his second try but could reach Dallas only after two weeks of Kundan’s admittance in the hospital.

Kundan, after he was discharged from the hospital, had short-term memory loss for days. He could barely remember who visited him, what he did or how he got his life back.

“Some friends from Cameron University, where I came in 2009, visited me after they heard the news,” Bhattarai said. “After an hour, I was not sure who visited and for what purpose.”

Even though it is so boring to stay at home all day, Kundan has a good friend to pass time with, Keshav Pd. Bhattarai, his father. Sometimes they talk about politics in Nepal and sometimes cook food together.

Kundan has been living with his cousin and a friend in Irving for a year. Dipendra Timilsina went to high school together with Bhattarai back in Nepal. They applied to the same university and also plan to join UTA with same major in couple of semesters.

“He is such a nice person I ever met and proud to call him my friend,” Timilsina said. “I like straight forward person like him.”

According to Timilsina, Kundan loves joking and making fun of his friends. He stays home and watches movies rather than go out.

He is so grateful for all his friends, Nepalese communities and other people who helped him financially and psychologically to get recovered.

“I am so lucky to get a new life,” Kundan said. “It is a gift of those who directly and indirectly supported me. I thank them all with my new heart I got.”

Keshav Bhattarai, Kundan’s dad is little disappointed with the Nepalese Society of Texas for not fulfilling their promises. Even though they showed interest in helping him, it turned out to be just words.

“People from outside Texas helped us more than people here in Texas,” Bhattarai said. “We are not blaming Texan Nepalese because they probably were busy or couldn’t make it for some reason.”

Bhattarai said nobody wants this to happen in a foreign land. He would be glad if Nepalese Societies and organizations form an emergency fund account so that nobody has to suffer like his son did.

Kundan would like to thank all his friends, relatives, well-wishers and other members of the community who gave him a new life. A patriotic Nepalese student, he would like to return back home after completion of his studies and serve his motherland.

“I will see you soon mom,” Kundan said. “Both of you—one who show me this amazing world and other who gave me a Nepalese identity.”